I HAVE travelled to the Winter Equestrian Festival each season for the past five or so years. I always find I learn something new and come away feeling like my mind has been opened up to new ideas, whether that be in relation to systems for horses, building and maintaining clients or the general evolution and growth of the sport.

The enthusiasm for the sport and the sheer concentration of horses and horse people in one place makes it impossible not to learn something from someone. This year I landed in WEF for week five which also coincided with the Palm Beach Masters World Cup show at Deer Ridge Farms and the grass Stadium jumping week.

This meant there were three venues with three and four-star jumping all within a five kilometre radius of each other. I am always impressed with the high level of horses at these shows, however this year I was even more impressed by the high quality of the people competing, training and supporting the action. Everywhere I looked I saw a plan, ambition and hard work.

During this visit, more than ever, I was struck by the extraordinary work ethic of those that have chosen to call Wellington home. While evenings might finish by the pool instead of the fire, there is no doubt that no matter how late into the night it may dwindle, most are up again before sunrise flatting horses for clients, walking courses, doing paper work or organising staff before the show kicks off at 8am.

WEF is a well-oiled machine which is fuelled by a client culture and those that operate businesses there are committed fully, seven days a week to keeping the wheels turning. What impressed me most was the commitment to growth, the growth of clients and their abilities, growth of their businesses, their horses, facilities and their sales. There is no sense of having arrived at success, but an insatiable desire to chase it.

My main client in Wellington is the professional, an individual running the sport as a means of income.

PERSPECTIVE

Many of these clients are Irish, those who have set up home state side and developed busy training and sales barns to support their competitive careers. My main role here is to help them create some visibility and perspective on their daily lives so they can identify priorities and progress in those areas.

Many are spinning so many plates at one time that each day they wake up and get on the same treadmill without really being able to consciously pursue any one direction for any length of time. Their days are packed full trying to coach and look after clients, source horses from abroad to meet client demands, close deals, manage properties, maintain normal family life and qualify for the Grand Prix on Saturday.

The culture is competitive in Wellington and feelings of insecurity are common from the sense of not moving quick enough. The 12-week timer counts down pretty quick once it sets off. I work to support them staying in control, having confidence when they need it and to be able focus when it counts.

I think it would be easy to say that life is easier in Florida but the reality is, certainly for any of the Irish I know, that neither luck nor talent alone was enough to get them to where they are now. That in fact it was hard work, risk taking and perseverance that has awarded them either horses, good jobs or their own clients.

When I look at the difference in the USA to the Irish culture, it is not a difference in work ethic that I see but perhaps a difference in the commitment and motivation to continuously plan ahead.

The most obvious example is in the coaching. The commitment to detail and planning in America will see a very average rider jump a clear round in a 1.40m class. Yes, horse quality is a factor but the commitment to the plan four weeks out and commitment to the plan in the arena are the key.

I travel back to Wellington in March and look forward to catching up with all the action again!